KB Kookmin Card President Yoon Woong-won, left, shakes hands with Bank of Hope CEO Kevin Kim after signing a memorandum of understanding on joint business in the United States at the latter’s headquarters in Los Angeles, Monday (local time). The Bank of Hope focuses on providing financial services to Korean-American communities in the country. The two firms agreed to establish a joint corporation. / Courtesy of KB Kookmin Card

Part-time lecturers at Pusan National University hold a press conference in front of the school's main building in Busan, Tuesday, after they went on strike following a failure to reach an agreement with the school authority over working conditions. / Yonhap

Min Byoung-chul, sixth from left, chairman of the Sunfull Internet Peace Movement, poses with members of civic groups, as well as politicians and diplomats, during the launch ceremony of the Citizens' Network against Hate Speech and Cyberbullying, at Seoul Myungbo Art Hall, Saturday. The network was organized for campaigns to eradicate malicious comments and hate speech both online and offline, which have become a serious social problem as they intensify social conflicts and sometimes lead to deaths. / Courtesy of Citizens' Network against Hate Speech and Cyberbullying

Citizens put chrysanthemums in working boots placed in front of Korea Western Power Co. headquarters in South Chung-Cheong Province to commemorate the tragic death of subcontractor Kim Yong-gyun. Kim, 24, died, Dec. 11, after getting stuck between conveyor belts at a power plant in Taean. Critics say the outsourcing of a dangerous project led the death of the subcontractor, noting 12 workers have been killed over the past eight years, while 97 percent of accidents during the past five years involved outside workers./ Yonhap

Members of the Seoul Private Taxi Association hold a rally in front of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea headquarters in Seoul, Friday, to call on the party and the government to disallow the planned ridesharing service by Kakao Mobility. Kakao decided to suspend the official launch of the service following the suicide of a protesting taxi driver, but the association demands a revision of the law to ban such a service. / Yonhap

Lawmakers from the largest opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) hold signs saying “Let's save nuclear power plants of Korea” during a rally at the National Assembly, Thursday, to protest the government's policy of closing nuclear plants. / Yonhap

Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai, third from left, cuts a ribbon with KEB Hana Bank CEO Ham Young-joo, second from left, and other executives from its subsidiaries to launch Hana Ventures, the group's venture capital firm, in Gangnam, Seoul, Wednesday. Hana Ventures will launch a 100 billion won fund to invest in tech startups in the first quarter of 2019. Courtesy of Hana Financial Group

Shinhan Bank CEO Wi Sung-ho, center, holds up a document with officials from the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and Korea Technology Finance Corp. (KIBO) at the bank's headquarters in Seoul, Friday, after agreeing to financially support small ship and auto parts makers. Shinhan will extend loans backed by the fund and KIBO. Courtesy of Shinhan Bank

Shinhan Bank CEO Wi Sung-ho, right, holds an award with Lee Sang-che, senior deputy governor of the Insurance and Financial Consumer Protection department of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) at the FSS in Seoul, Dec. 13. The financial regulator gave the award to the bank for its continued efforts in helping small- and medium-sized companies and the underprivileged. Courtesy of Shinhan Bank

Woori Card CEO Jeong Won-jai, left, awards Kim Hyun-jung, a traditional Korean artist, at its Seoul headquarters, Thursday, to show gratitude as it issued more than 2 million Woori credit cards designed by Kim. The card was launched in April 2018. Courtesy of Woori Card

Homeplus CEO Lim Il-soon, second from left, poses with Gangseo-gu Office head Ro Hyun-song, center, and Gangseo Hope Sharing Welfare Foundation Chairman Ko Kun-sang, second from right, at Homeplus headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday. They packed 600 boxes of snacks with the discount chain's employees to give to underprivileged children in the district. The company said its employees delivered a total of 2,100 boxes to needy children nationwide. / Courtesy of Homeplus

Models promote toys at Homeplus branch in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Monday. All outlets of the discount chain will provide discounts of up to 50 percent and other benefits for more than 300 popular toys, including Ghost Mecard, Hello Carbot and LEGO. / Courtesy of Homeplus

Starbucks Coffee Korea employees hold palm-shaped panels to promote “High Five Day” in this photo released Sunday. The coffee chain will hold the event Monday and offer free size upgrades to customers who touch the panel, to raise awareness of the emotional difficulties of staff and the need to show respect to them. / Courtesy of Starbucks Coffee Korea

Models promote Christmas party food at Homeplus Special's Mokdong store in Seoul, Thursday. The discount chain said it will offer large discounts on popular bulk items sold at 15 Homeplus Special warehouse stores nationwide by the end of this year. / Courtesy of Homeplus

Visitors to the National Museum of Korea take a look at Bohemian glass relics at a special exhibition marking the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and the Czech Republic, Monday. The exhibition runs until April 26. / Yonhap

Ewha Womans University President Kim Sun-uk, right, points to an artist’s rendering of a dormitory planned for the school’s campus in Seoul, Tuesday, during a groundbreaking ceremony. Those listening to her are, from left, Choi Kyung-hee, the next president of the university; Chang Myong-sue, head of Ewha Haktang; Yoon Hoo-jung, Ewha’s honorary president; and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon./ Courtesy of Ewha Womans University

An ancient chest used to store Buddhist texts is on display during a ceremony at the National Museum of Korea, Tuesday. The nation’s flagship museum acquired the rare Goryeo Kingdom (918—1392) heritage from a Japanese collector./ Yonhap